All In a Night's Work
by AnimatedRosie
Summary: On a mission, Luxord makes a deal in Port Royal. Hopefully makes Luxord look like a deeper character than most other fan depictions. IU, Oneshot, no pairings, T to be safe.


**A/N** This is my FIRST EVER fic. Take it for what you will.

It was just a rowdy night as ever in the Blue Bayou Pub in Port Royal. Rugged-looking men sat at the bar, recounting stories of swashbuckling danger, while the drunkards shouted in a failed attempt at looking suave. The smell of booze and clang of glasses filled the air. But in the back corner of the rather small tavern sat a group of six men playing cards, one of which was winning, and winning he was.

"Geez man, are ye cheatin'?" one of the scruff looking pirates inquired.

"Aye! Look at his sleeves." another one said in a rather cockney accent. "Either he has aces up thar, or I be drunker than I thought!"

"Calm down, gentlemen," the Gambler of Fate retorted as he rolled up and shook out the sleeves of his midnight black coat. "I assure you, there's nothing here."

Luxord took another swig of his ale as the men surrounding him shared laughter. _Screw the rules about fraternizing with the locals,_ he thought. _I have card games._ But the whole time Luxord never quite took his gaze away from the burly pirate with the feather in his hat, sitting at the bar, yet keeping to himself.

When the gamblers had left, the drunkards passed out, and the bartender was wiping off tables, Luxord finally approached the pirate from earlier. All of his spying and preparation was about to pay off.

"Excuse me, sir, but you wouldn't happen to be Barbossa, would you?" he asked with a polite smile.

"Aye, lad. I am." the pirate answered. Barbossa looked down at Luxord's surprisingly heavy sack of munny. "That's quite the haul you have there, Mister..."

"Luxord, sir. And it's all in a night's work," Luxord remarked, "but I'd rather we skip the formalities. You see, I have a proposal for you."

Barbossa looked on with interest replying, "And what kind of proposal would this be?"

Luxord began to lead them to the pub's exit. "Well, I understand that you are... How shall I put this? ..." Just then he shoved Barbossa into the moonlight, revealing his true, zombielike appearance. "Undead."

The pirate slowly regained his balance and turned to face the young man. His skin had all but disappeared, and his ribs could clearly be seen through his now rent garments.

Luxord took a few seconds to clear his throat and thoughts, as he wasn't quite prepared for the ghastly figure that stood before him. He then continued, "I also understand that to break this despicable curse, you must find every last coin of the cursed Aztec Gold."

"Aye, and offer the blood of all who laid a finger on the treasure," he replied, his cold, ice blue gaze not leaving Luxord's for a second. "But what be this to ye?"

"Is it not true then, that you are having a bit of..." Luxord paused, "trouble in detecting where this last piece lies?"

"I'm listening, lad." Barbossa said impatiently.

The Gambler of Fate took a deep breath, and said, "What if I could offer you a means of finding the remaining coin?"

Barbossa just stood there silently, not breaking his stare.

Luxord gestured swiftly in a upward motion and, in a flash of darkness, brought a dark creature with a knight's helmet and beady yellow eyes out of the ground.

"This," said Luxord, "is a Heartless. Or, in layman's terms, a person whose heart has been taken by darkness. I believe these creatures may hold the key to locating your Aztec gold. I could tell you how to control them, if you were willing to do me a... small favor."

"Alright," Barbossa replied, his bony jaw rattling as he spoke. "What is it?"

Luxord smiled, and took a step toward the pirate. Quickly and under his breath, he said, "There is a boy, with a key as a sword. If he comes to Port Royal, you throw Heartless at him."

"That's all?"

"That's all, sir."

Barbossa pondered the offer for a moment that felt like a year. The Soldier Heartless was fidgeting, its armor making quite the cacophony. Luxord again flourished his arm, this time making the heartless vanish. Though the action did little to relieve his tension.

Luxord took a pained glance at Barbossa's expression. _It's impossible to read him,_ he thought, _I'd bet he's great at poker_.

"Lad," Barbossa said, finally breaking the silence, "you've got yourself a deal."

Back in the near-empty Grey Area, Luxord poured over his items for the next day's mission of showing Barbossa the ropes. _Maybe the Justice deck? But I might require something more magic oriented._

"Moogle," he said to the small hooded figure in the back of the room, "could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure thing, Kupo!" the creature said as he... it... bobbled over.

Luxord let out a small giggle as he realized no one quite knew the poor thing's gender. "You wouldn't happen to have any gear more suited to magic, would you?" he inquired.

"Oh yeah, Kupo! For your weapon? You'll want that Duel Gear+ right there, Kupo," the little thing said rather quickly. "Hey, Kupo, so whaddaya think about that blond, spiky-haired kupo runnin' off a few weeks ago?"

"I think," Luxord retorted, "that you followed him. And _that_ would be called 'treason,' little fellow."

The moogle became nervous, "Kupo, about that, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it," Luxord interrupted. "Two-thousand munny, correct?"

The moogle just nodded, took the currency and returned to his spot near the wall. Luxord gazed for a moment at the heart-shaped moon out the window, then retired to his quarters to prepare for the impending day ahead.

**A/N** So... did you like it? Did you hate it? Did you spot the Yu-gi-oh abridged reference? TELL ME! Leave a review! Any and all feedback is MUCH appreciated ^_^


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